


My sister and her girlfriend are royally insufferable

by imcrapatthiswritingshitbutitry



Category: Her Royal Highness - Rachel Hawkins
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28386321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imcrapatthiswritingshitbutitry/pseuds/imcrapatthiswritingshitbutitry
Summary: There are barely any fics in this fandom so I'm gonna write some (the titles will be awful but oh well).This one's from Seb's point of view and is pretty much the last bit of the book, maybe a little more.
Relationships: Flora Baird/Millie Quint
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	My sister and her girlfriend are royally insufferable

Daisy and Miles had said something was wrong with Millie this morning; my friends had said the same thing. She'd walked into the dining room and barely eaten a morsel. Miles told me he'd mentioned the story from _People_ but Millie hadn't known about it and now Flora and her weren't talking. 

I walk into Flora's bedroom. She's staring out the window, but I can't see what she's looking at. With a swish of her red dressing gown, she turns to face me. She's not wearing her usual face of make-up and there are small dark bags under her eyes. By the looks of it, I don't think she slept last night. She doesn't smile at me either, like she usually would, or even acknowledge that I'm there. 

"Flo..." I don't know what to say. I shouldn't have come up here without a plan. "I - I'm sorry about... about, well, you know." There's a minute of silence. "You really like her, don't you?" 

Flora doesn't say anything, and I think she's going to completely ignore me until I see her nod, looking down at the ground, her face flushing slightly with embarrassment. I don't think I've ever seen her like this before, not even with Tamsin. I didn't realise how serious she was about this. 

I sigh. "Oh, Flo. Come here." I walk over and bring her into a hug. I hear her sniffle and realise she's crying; it's very quiet and barely noticeable, but she's still crying. Flora never cries. "I'm sure everything will work out." 

She pushes me away and turns around so I can't watch her composing herself. "You don't know that," she says, in an almost inaudible whisper. "Mum won't let me go back to the school now. I might never see her again and she most certainly won't want to see me." 

"You didn't see her this morning, Flo. She looked devastated." 

Flora just shrugs. "She ended it, not me." 

I sigh again. "I know she still feels the same about you as you do about her," I tell her. 

"You don't know that." 

"Look, it's Miles's fault for mentioning that stupid article. Millie just got a little insecure about it all; it's a natural reaction." 

Flora glared at me. "It would never work anyway. I don't know what I was thinking: dating someone out of my league like that. Why can't I just fall in love with some duke or at least someone upper-class and respectable?" 

"Everything will work out, Flo," I say, my hand on her shoulder. I pull her in for another hug before leaving the room. 

I know what I need to do now. I need to talk to Millie. There's no way Flora will and I doubt Millie would ever be confident to come to the palace without a prompt. I know Flora blames herself for what happened. She thinks it's her fault because she's royalty and is always in the spotlight of the media. And I know she thinks no one will want to be with her because of that. Alex and I have had similar thoughts; everyone in our situation does. 

It's several days later when I finally get the opportunity to drive over to Gregorstoun. Since then, Flora's barely come out of her room, only for meals and even then, not every mealtime. Mum hasn't even mentioned it. I'm not sure if she's angry, or maybe confused. I know she thought Flora being a lesbian was a phase, but anyone with eyes can see how much she cares about Millie: it clearly isn't just a phase. 

Hoping that she's actually in there, I knock on Millie and Sakshi's bedroom door. It opens after just a few seconds. I'm going to admit, I can see why Flora's completely smitten about the girl in front of me. She is gorgeous. Her long, wavy brown hair falls beautifully around her shoulders, framing her face, even when it's clear she's as heartbroken as my sister and probably hasn't slept in a while. 

She stares at me for a minute. I know I don't look great, either. My shirt's a bit wrinkled, my jaw patchy with stubble. 

"Roomie Quint," I say with a faint grin. 

"Brother Seb," she says, and I feel my smile spreading. 

She ushers me inside and, after a second, I sit heavily on the end of her bed, bracing my elbows on my thighs. 

"So," I say with a long breath, "this is buggeringly awkward, but I'm here to talk about you and Flora." 

"I assumed that was is," says Millie, taking a seat in her desk chair and slinging an arm across the back. 

I nod, still looking around the room. "Who're you rooming with now?" I ask her, looking at the other bed. It's got several brightly coloured pillows and cushions with striped bedsheets. They're very blinding to the eyes, but I like it. 

"Saks," she replies, and I nod again, rubbing a hand over the back of my neck a little awkwardly. 

"She around? Wouldn't mind - " 

"No," Millie says flatly, turning to face me more fully. "So can we get this over with?" 

I lean back, surprised. "Get what over with?" 

"Whatever this is going to be," she says. Her eyes dart over to the dresser where there's an organised display of rock samples, all different colours. 

"You think I'm upset with you?" I ask. I suppose that is a logical assumption. Most brothers would do that sort of thing, wouldn't they? "Here to do some sort of patronising brother thing?" Snorting, I shake my head and smile. "Trust me, love, I'm rubbish at that. I'm here because..." 

Trailing off, I sigh and look around the room again. I could really do with a drink to get me through this conversation, else it'll be even more awkward. "You wouldn't happen to have a drink around here, would you?" 

Millie blinks at me. "As in booze?" That last word sounds weird with her Texan accent. "No, I, a seventeen-year-old, do not have _booze_ in my _dorm room_." 

"Shit," I mutter under my breath and slump slightly before asking, "Are you in love with my sister?" 

Millie clearly has no idea how to answer that. I watch her carefully as she opens her mouth then closes it again. She sighs, a hand coming up to fiddle with her hair. 

She doesn't meet my eyes as she answers shortly, "That's private." 

My eyes widen at that. "So that's a yes." 

"It's a none of your business," she shoots back. "If that's all you came here to ask me," she continues, picking up the notebook that's on the bed, "then I guess you have an answer. And I have homework to do, so - " 

"She's miserable," I tell her, "without you. I've never seen her like this before." 

Millie falters, swallowing hard before saying, "Well, I'm not exactly dancing through the streets, either." 

"Then why did you leave?" 

She looks at me, her fingers fiddling anxiously with the hem of her shirt as I lift one hand to add, "And don't say that's private. I mean, it is, I'm sure, but I'd still like to know." 

I watch her think for a while, looking down at the floor for a second before sighing. In the end, she just says, "We were too different. It was too hard. I get where I was fun and... convenient, I guess, but she's never going to end up with someone like me." 

"Bollocks," I say, sitting back with my hands braced on my knees. "Absolute bollocks." 

Blinking at me, Millie clears her throat before saying, "It is not bollocks." Again, that word sounds weird with her accent. Maybe just because I've never heard an American swear like that. "It's the truth. I mean, look at me." 

"I'm looking," I reply simply, "and I see a perfectly lovely girl who my sister is completely mad for, and who's throwing away a good think because she's not brave enough to give it a shot." 

"That's unfair," she says. 

I only shrug, patting my shirt pockets in search of a cigarette. I find one but Millie leans forward, plucking it from my fingers and tearing it in half, tiny shreds of tobacco falling onto the floor. 

That just makes me grin. "See? You're exactly what she needs. You say you're not cut out for the royal life, but look at you. Not scared of me, survived an entire weekend in a castle, looks good in tartan, and, from what Flora has said, smart as a bloody whip." 

"She said that about me?" Millie asks in a small voice. 

I lean forward again, putting a hand on her knee. "She's a bit of a screwup. We all are. Well, all of us except for Alex. But she cares about you. She let you in. She trusted you." I squeeze her knee. "Now return the favour." 

With that, I stand up. " _Now_ I'm going to go find a drink." 

I leave, heading back outside to drive back to the palace. I hope Millie actually thinks about what I've said. I know Flora needs her and she needs Flora. They need each other, that much is obvious. I'd never seen my sister as happy as when she talked about Millie and I've never seen her as sad as she is now. 

"Where were you?" asks Flora when I walk into the dining room that evening. 

"Nowhere," I say curtly - mum's in the room and is frowning at me. I have the feeling that she knows where I was. Alex and Eleanor do too, I think. 

We all have a museum opening to attend, then a procession down the Mile. It'll all be the usual tedious bollocks, but we're used to it by now. I wear the usual fancy suit and tie, like all the royal men are supposed to and Flora looks beautiful in her dress, as always. 

About halfway through the procession, I hear a shout from somewhere in the crowd: "Floooorrraaaaaaa!" It could be anyone, but I recognise that voice. 

Flora clearly does too as she grins and shouts back, "Sakshi!" 

I'm not sure what's happening. The crowd is parting around where Flora now is, her bodyguards watching cautiously. I rise up onto tiptoes to see what's going on and, oh God! It's Millie! I break into a grin as our eyes meet. Finally! 

I move closer to hear her talking: "Flora, I'm so sorry. About everything." 

I'm still grinning like a complete fanboy as the scene unfolds in front of me. Millie's still talking. Everyone's watching the pair of them and suddenly everything falls silent. 

"I love you, Flora," says Millie before she starts rambling. 

Flora laughs at her, showing her teeth, and holds Millie's hand. I'm still beaming, my eyes darting between the two of them as they talk. I can barely hear what they're saying, but I don't care. They're both smiling and they look adorable together, it's perfect. 

"Kiss her lass!" shouts someone from the crowd and Flora bursts into giggles. 

They take the man's advice, kissing deeply and passionately. The crowd roars with applause, clapping and shouting. There are whistles from all around us and flowers being thrown from everyone. Alex, Eleanor and I all join in with the cheering. 

Flora and Millie break apart and I deem it safe enough to go over, resting a hand on my sister's shoulder so she turns to face me, the grin still plastered on her face. 

"We - um - we have to go, Flo," I say. 

Flora sighs, her smile fading before turning back to her girlfriend - it feels great to be able to call them that again now! 

"I'll be back, I promise. Head back to the palace tonight and I'll talk to mum. She has to let me share with you again, or at least let me go back to school." 

Millie nods. Sakshi and Perry are grinning just as much as the two girls. I probably am too actually, now I think about it. Flora pulls Millie's shirt and brings her back in for a final kiss before we head back out into the parade. 

"You went and talked to her, didn't you?" asks Flora, smiling at me. 

I nod. "Yep. You two are perfect together and I wasn't about to sit back as your relationship crumbled in front of me." 

"Well, thank you," she says with a light laugh. I love it when she smiles like that. She seems completely happy and at ease. I knew Millie was good for her and I'm just glad that everything's finally alright again.


End file.
